US gov’t grants limited right to revive games behind “abandoned” servers [Updated]

US gov’t grants limited right to revive games behind “abandoned” servers [Updated]

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which argued strongly for these changes, gave qualified approval to the LoC's moves. "We're pleased that the Librarian of Congress granted our petition to give some legal clarity to players, museums, and archives who keep old games running," EFF Senior Staff attorney Mitch Stoltz told Ars Technica. "This exemption will help preserve classic games in a playable form for future generations."

"We're disappointed that the Librarian decided to limit the exemption to games that aren't playable at all without an authentication server," Stoltz continued, "because the heart of many games is online multiplayer mode, and preserving multiplayer play should not have to happen under a legal cloud. This exemption is helpful, but Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a disastrous law that's badly in need of reform."